In 2021 Resolution’s Parenting After Parting Committee produced the Parenting Through Separation Guide. Written as a collective the Guide is essential for all separating parents. Over the last two years it has become the go-to resource for lawyers both inside and outside of the Resolution family.
In May 2024 the second version of the Guide was published and is heralded as an anchor for anyone separating with children.
The guide is a 40 page visually appealing, easy to read document that is available to buy in print or digital format from the Resolution website.
It shares real stories of parents and their children’s reflections of separation. It’s factual and non-judgemental and written in a very down to earth way. The Guide isn’t meant to be a legal text, it’s aimed at real people who are going through a tough time and is designed to support them on their journey.
There isn’t a resource like it for parents who are separating and its function as a supporting tool for family law professions has been, according to one lawyer; “invaluable and essential”. It’s a unique representation of both the emotional and practical sides of separation as a parent and how to manage both of those throughout the separation. As a co-parent coach I send it to all my new clients and indeed anyone who approaches me for support. I’ve had parents feedback that it’s ‘the most useful thing anyone has given me to read during this awful process.’ And ‘It was so practical. I keep it in the kitchen as a support document. It’s become a crutch for me as I figure out what I’m supposed to be doing.’
Parents can either read the Guide as a book, from start to finish, or they can dip in and out using the sections that are most appropriate for what they need. The Parenting Through Separation Guide starts from the end of the relationship and how emotions might start to impact the way we parent with our ex-partner. It helps move the reader from the idea of parenting in a relationship towards redefining what parenting is with another parent, a co-parent. It introduces the idea that even though you’re not in a relationship, you still need to parent with each other and it offers suggestions and ways to approach that parenting.
It examines in some depth the key areas needed to make co-parenting successful and so looks closely at communication, the voice of the child, dealing and including extended families. It also looks at what are the areas that might make it hard to co-parent and how to manage some of those bumps in the road.
One of the really excellent parts of the guide for parents is the jargon buster. We all know that legal speak can be intimidating for clients and this empowers your clients to be able to understand what is happening. It also talks about what happens when co-parenting isn’t working and the legal processes that can help with that.
It’s practical and no-nonsense, but it’s also supportive and it offers a framework to parents when they are in most need of one.
For your copies please visit https://resolution.org.uk/publications-books/parenting-through-separation/
